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My question is whenever i sit down in the way that your suppost to sit in Aikido i cant. My legs hurt REALLY badly. I have only been to two practices in my life, so maybe my legs just aernt used to that, but please tell me if im on track or if somethings wrong. Also, if it is just because i just started, how long will it be until i can sit that way comfortably? Please respond! Thanks alot!

"A pacifist is not really a pacifist if he is unable to make a choice between violence and non-violence. A true pacifist is able to kill or maim in the blink of an eye, but at the moment of impending destruction of the enemy he chooses non-violence."

For most people, sitting in seiza is uncomfortable in the beginning. It does change over time. Without killing yourself, try it at home for a minute or two a day, as this starts to improve, push it an extra 30 seconds, slowly building up your tolerance.

For what it's worth, even the Japanese find it uncomfortable sitting in seiza for long periods.

Regards

Bryan

A difficult problem is easily solved by asking yourself the question, "Just how would the Lone Ranger handle this?"

Sit seiza. Then sit seiza some more. Then try sitting seiza some more.

Seriously, it hurts everyone, and the amount of time you can take it will increase as you train more. When I started aikido 8 months ago I couldn't sit more than 5-10 seconds. I'm up to about 20 minutes now. Now if only I could come up with a way to deal with the strange bony lumps that have formed on my shins from thousands of ukemi...

Now if only I could come up with a way to deal with the strange bony lumps that have formed on my shins from thousands of ukemi...

If I can say so... I think you should perhaps look into improving your falling skills. If you're getting "bony lumps," I think there may be something inherently inefficient about the way you're rolling, falling, or getting back up...

It is a quick sharp pain in mainly my knees and hams. However this is wothout stretching. After stretching is hams. What do i do? Thanks.

Honestly, I don't know. I've been told to try to avoid anything that causes a sharp pain. Maybe one of the people here with medical knowledge can chime in. Is it possible to see a doctor to see if you have some sort of knee problem that is preventing you from sitting seiza?

Bronson

"A pacifist is not really a pacifist if he is unable to make a choice between violence and non-violence. A true pacifist is able to kill or maim in the blink of an eye, but at the moment of impending destruction of the enemy he chooses non-violence."

Quite honestly, I'm not sure about any long term effects this might have (I already have a bit of knee trouble afte 2 years of training), but for me just sitting it out worked - very hard in the beginning, but the pain just goes away after a while. I tried sitting home on a softer surface for a bit every day, which helped.

If I can say so... I think you should perhaps look into improving your falling skills. If you're getting "bony lumps," I think there may be something inherently inefficient about the way you're rolling, falling, or getting back up...

-- Jun

Hi Jun!

Thanks for the input. I'm going to ask our yudansha if there's something incorrect or inefficient about my falls.

The bony lumps in question (there's one on each leg) are about one inch below the bottom of my kneecaps - I thought they were from sitting seiza, but I may well be incorrect. I'm training 2 hours a night, 5 nights a week - could it possibly be a result of training that much each week?

The bony lumps in question (there's one on each leg) are about one inch below the bottom of my kneecaps - I thought they were from sitting seiza, but I may well be incorrect.

Hard to tell without looking at it but it sounds like it could be the place that you use to get back up from a roll?

Quote:

I'm training 2 hours a night, 5 nights a week - could it possibly be a result of training that much each week?

Perhaps, if your regular training keeps further exacerbating your lumps. At least from personal experience, that amount of training shouldn't be that detrimental as long as your body is being handled well (both by you and your partner)...

As far as the original topic of this thread goes, I guess I was lucky in that I was already flexible enough to handle seiza without any problems. However, from talking to those without my flexibility, it really is just a function of getting "used" to it for most folks. Try sitting in it for a minute or two while sitting around the house or such. I do caution, though, that overdoing it could perhaps lead to damage; best to let your body naturally adjust itself to the seiza position over a good amount of time.

Hard to tell without looking at it but it sounds like it could be the place that you use to get back up from a roll?

It could be. I'll have to pay more attention next time I roll.

Quote:

Perhaps, if your regular training keeps further exacerbating your lumps. At least from personal experience, that amount of training shouldn't be that detrimental as long as your body is being handled well (both by you and your partner)...

Well, they're not really bothering me, so I'll just keep on training and see what happens to them.